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Glow can render markdown and pipe the output to a pager for easier navigation of long documents.

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Using the —pager Flag

Enable pager mode with the --pager (or -p) flag: 
glow README.md --pager

glow document.md -p

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Default Pager

By default, Glow uses less -r as the pager: 
case pager || cmd.Flags().Changed("pager"):
    pagerCmd := os.Getenv("PAGER")
    if pagerCmd == "" {
        pagerCmd = "less -r"
    }
The -r flag tells less to display ANSI color codes correctly, preserving Glow’s syntax highlighting and styling.

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PAGER Environment Variable

Customize the pager by setting the PAGER environment variable: 
export PAGER="less -r"
glow README.md --pager

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Using Custom Pagers

You can use any pager that accepts input from stdin: 
# Use most instead of less
export PAGER="most"
glow README.md -p

# Use bat as a pager with line numbers
export PAGER="bat --paging=always --style=plain"
glow document.md --pager

# Use more (basic pager)
export PAGER="more"
glow README.md -p
Make sure your pager supports ANSI color codes (like less -r) to preserve Glow’s styling.

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Pager vs TUI Mode

Glow offers two modes for viewing markdown:

Pager Mode

  • Uses external pager program
  • Simple, familiar navigation
  • Good for single documents
  • Activated with --pager

TUI Mode

  • Built-in interactive interface
  • File browsing capabilities
  • Advanced navigation features
  • Activated with --tui

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Mutual Exclusivity

You cannot use both modes simultaneously. Glow will return an error: 
if pager && tui {
    return errors.New("cannot use both pager and tui")
}

# This will fail
glow README.md --pager --tui
# Error: cannot use both pager and tui

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Pager Implementation

Here’s how Glow executes the pager (main.go:316-329): 
case pager || cmd.Flags().Changed("pager"):
    pagerCmd := os.Getenv("PAGER")
    if pagerCmd == "" {
        pagerCmd = "less -r"
    }

    pa := strings.Split(pagerCmd, " ")
    c := exec.Command(pa[0], pa[1:]...)
    c.Stdin = strings.NewReader(out)
    c.Stdout = os.Stdout
    if err := c.Run(); err != nil {
        return fmt.Errorf("unable to run command: %w", err)
    }
  1. Checks the PAGER environment variable
  2. Defaults to less -r if not set
  3. Splits the command into program and arguments
  4. Pipes the rendered markdown to the pager

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Configuration File

Set pager as the default viewing mode in your configuration file (~/.config/glow/glow.yml): 
pager: true

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Examples

# Basic pager usage
glow README.md --pager

# Temporary pager override
PAGER="most" glow document.md -p

# Use less with additional options
export PAGER="less -r -F -X"
glow README.md --pager

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Common Pager Options

less options:
  • -r - Display ANSI colors correctly
  • -F - Quit if content fits on one screen
  • -X - Don’t clear screen on exit
  • -S - Disable line wrapping
# Less with quit-if-one-screen and no-clear
export PAGER="less -rFX"
glow README.md -p
If you frequently use pager mode, set it as default in your configuration file rather than using the flag every time.

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